Manchester, Connecticut, U.S.A — Maybe you’ve heard the catchy jingle that seems to be played during every commercial break recently.
You know the one, the Media Play theme song of sorts, “More Choice, Less Price, Every Day.”
It seems to be what everyone is humming now-a-days.
Well, I was sick of humming it, so I decided to go and check it out for myself.
The first thing I noticed as I made my way through the doors of the Manchester Media Play just one of over 80 stores nationwide were the
bright colors plastered throughout the store.
They really caught my attention.
They weren’t too dull but you didn’t need sunglasses to look at it either. As Goldilocks would say, it was just right.
I made a beeline for the corner where there were over 60,000 CDs at my disposal.
Almost immediately I was greeted by a smiling employee who seemed almost honored to help me find what I wanted. I told him I was just looking so he grinned and said he would be around the corner if I needed anything.
Later, when I did, he helped me find it on the computer.
The computer is another great thing about Media Play. They have a music directory computer that enables even the computer-disabled like me to find anything they want, whether it’s by song title, album title or artist.
I can barely work a typewriter but this thing really helped me out.
When I was done fooling with the computer, I headed over to the books. I was met with shelf upon shelf upon shelf stacked with more than 100,000 books.
That’s less than Borders but at a better price, and even if they have to order it for you — which they will gladly do – you still get a better price!
All of their books, in-stock or special order are 35 percent off every day. So, if you ask me, Media Play is the much better deal.
As I made my way to the movie section, I walked through the small-but-growing computer software area.
They had an okay selection, nothing too big, but when I talked to Tom Erb, the promotions manager, he said they were learning more and more about the software industry and hoped to be more competitive soon.
Once I passed through there, I was suddenly surrounded by movies more than 20,000 of them.
They had any kind of movie you could hope for: action-packed adventures, thrilling thrillers, classical classics, even entertaining movies for younger viewers.
You can find a movie there to satisfy anyone, and that’s not easy.
Throughout the store in any section, Media Play also has a variety of hats, T-shirts, stickers, calendars and other supplies one might expect to find in any other music store, but they have these things for other areas as well.
There are Goosebumps T-shirts for little kids, Nirvana memorabilia for those alternative fans, and even puzzles for those who like to be challenged.
To happily accommodate the Media Play consumers, there is a small coffee shop situated right into a corner in the store. So, after or even during your shopping experience you can enjoy a juice or a coffee, and a cookie or a bagel, for not that much dough.
Media Play holds plenty of events in the store including book signings, live music and special children’s programs.
Because Media Play is a community-oriented store, according to Erb, it should have community-oriented programs.
So, an hour and a half after I entered Media Play, I left a very happy customer. I got what I wanted, at a price I liked, and it wasn’t a pain
in the neck.
I’m glad there is finally a store where I really have more choice, less price,
every day.
Besides the store in Manchester, Media Play is also located in Enfield and Newington.
Kathleen Haynes is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
